Lyrics from the song, "Sin" by Lisa Angelle.

Deep Play, Chapter 8

Well, if you let me, I'll be your angel

And I can stand up to the hell that you've been through

Cause the worst thing my heart can imagine

Is to leave this life not holdin' you.

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Wu woke up to a warm body snuggling underneath his chin. They hadn't moved at all during sleep, as if they both knew, deep down, that they were where they belonged. He tightened his arms around her shoulders, hesitant to move, afraid to wake her up. Dealing with a sleepy Sally was MUCH easier than dealing with her awake.

"Wufei? What's wrong?" her voice floated to his ears in that sexy, low voice she saved for early mornings.

"I didn't want to wake you." he admitted, staring down at the top of her head. "You're much quieter when you're asleep."

Her shoulders shook, and he smiled, letting the tension out of his body. He stared at the ceiling, waiting for the inevitable retort.

"Did I give you a headache, Wu?" She laughed, tilting her head up to look at his face.

"Among other things..." Wufei insinuated, growling a bit.

"Chang Wufei! I'm shocked!"

"Good. Maybe you'll stay quiet for awhile longer." Wu teased. finally kissing her good morning.

"Hmmmm.. That was nice. So.. are you going to let me out?"

"Don't you ever stop?" he asked, exasperated.

"No. Come on, Wu. If it would make you feel better, I promise not to leave the mansion. I'm going stir crazy here, dammit!"

"Sally, you know what happened to my wife. I will always blame myself, because I failed to protect her." He was almost begging for her understanding, as his mind relived that battle. Then, he hardened his mind, and determination showed from his aristocratic features. "No more, Sally. I know you can protect yourself, but I will not risk our child."

He crawled out of bed and threw his pants on. Grabbing his shirt, he went into the bathroom and slammed the door.

"Chang! I told you I won't leave the mansion!" she called after him, frustrated. "I'm NOT Meiran, Wu! I won't just run into a fight, dammit!"

She waited a few minutes, knowing that he would have to come back before he could leave.

:::Who does he think he is, walking away from me in the middle of an argument!:::

Five minutes turned to ten, then fifteen. Finally, she walked over to the bathroom door and turned the knob.

:::It's not locked...::: She mumbled, walking inside.

"What?" Sally cried out, shocked. "Wufei! Where are you?"

The jade tiled room was empty. Somehow, he had escaped.

"Chang!" she screeched, knowing he was still near by, "You are a coward, do you hear me!"

"The whole house can hear you, Woman." His voice came from the hallway, and she stormed out, glaring at his smirking face. "And I'm not a coward. I'm just better at tactics. Oh.. and in case you find the door? I already locked it from the outside. I figure you'll be busy trying to find it all day. Have fun!"

His laughter followed him down the hall as he let it ring out. He was actually winning a battle against his best nemesis.. his partner, his woman, the ultimate Sally Po.

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In an underground warehouse in Brussels

The overhead lights shone weakly into the darkness, illuminating circles of shaky white light on the concrete floor below. The five young men gathered at the decrepit card table, waiting for the appearance of the Maganac leader. There was a game of poker dealed out, and they were playing to pass the time. Every now and then, the hand was interrupted by a fit of giggles from the chinese pilot, who would look up, apologize, and tell everyone to go on. After the third time, Duo couldn't take it anymore.

"Ok, that's it, Chang! What is so funny, that you, of all people can't stop laughing?" He asked.

"Sally this morning. Now get on with the hand." He tried to sound his normal ornery self, but his curling lip ruined the effect.

The other pilots leaned forward, interested.

"What? Come on, you can tell us!" Quatre encouraged, his eyes bright. All he could sense from the Wufei were good feelings of smug amusement, and he was extremely curious.

"It was nothing. I just outsmarted the woman."

"Don't stop there, Wu. You don't do that too often." Heero smirked quietly, causing the braided man to choke on his soda.

"After Duo and Hilde had us locked behind bars the second time, I noticed something strange about my bathroom." He rested his feet on the table, careful not to scatter his winning hand. "There was an access panel to the plumbing under the tub. We all had one, if you remember?" He waited while they all nodded, unsure of what he was getting at. "I noticed it when I dropped my last rubber band between the tub and the sink. I opened the panel, expecting to be able to get to the band that way, and I could see a light from the other side of the tub. The bath next door joined with mine, and the access to the plumbing for both rooms was in my bathroom. The light came from the ventilation duct underneath the bathtub in the next room. I could leave at any time, by crawling through. I simply kept an extra set of clothes in that room, since no one used it."

"I don't understand, Wufei." Duo said, perplexed. "How did this outsmart Sally?"

"I left in the middle of an argument."

"She's going to kill you." Trowa stated simply, grinning in spite of himself.

"Worth it, Barton. Now, let's finish this hand." Wufei placed his two pair down, confident that he had won.

"Too bad, Wu. Four aces." Heero smirked, taking the pot.

"Hmph! Can't win them all. Hey, I hear something." Wufei hissed, hearing footsteps.

"It's probably only Rasheed." Duo complained as he stood up. Drawing his gun, he went to one side of the door as Heero mimicked his movements on the other side.

They tensed, as a tall, bulky shadow entered, only to relax as Rasheed turned to them.

The older man nodded to each of them, and sat down at the recently vacated table. The pilots each sat down around the table, as Trowa swept the cards into a neat pile.

"Rasheed, has she mentioned anything about Wufei, yet?"

"No, Master Quatre. She doesn't trust me, yet. I can't help feeling like I'm failing you!"

"No, Rasheed, it's not your fault." Wu answered the man. "We expected this. She has no reason to believe him. More to the point, she has no way to control Rasheed."

"So.. we have to give her a way to control him." Quatre said slowly. "And I know how."

"Master Quatre?"

"She thinks that you are still loyal to me, doesn't she?" He asked the Maganac leader.

"Yes, Master."

"Then, we feed her information that could be potentially damning to me, and let her think that you would be willing to do anything to protect me."

"That could work." Heero said, surprised. "But, what could we feed her? Quatre is practically too good to be true."

"Well, we could let her believe that the Winner Corporation is facing bankruptcy. If something like that leaked out, our stockholders will be going nuts trying to get out while we're afloat."

"Quatre, we can't use that. Even if it isn't true, the rumors alone could ruin you!" Trowa stated vehimently.

"Trowa, Wufei is my friend. What better reason to risk all than friendship?"

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